When interviewing for a job, you naturally are trying your best to impress a prospective employer, and much of your time has most likely been spent preparing for an interviewer’s questions.

But it is important to remember that a job interview is a two-way street.  You need to make sure that this is a place where you want to work, a place where you will be happy.  Toward that end, you need to do some interviewing of your own.  Your research about the company will probably turn up questions you will want answered at the interview, and you should have them ready, even written down.

One area to avoid, however, is salary and benefits.  Wait for the interviewer to bring up this topic before discussing it.

But beyond that, don’t be afraid to learn as much about the job as you can.  For example, you might ask about a typical day’s duties for the job you are applying for, what your top priority should be in the job, what the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities are, what the company’s management style is, what the company’s corporate culture is like, what the company’s values are.

Other possible questions: What is the policy on transfers to other departments and divisions, does the organization support ongoing training for employees to stay up to date, can you make a lateral job move?  You might even want to ask the interviewer why he or she came to the company and why he or she stays.  How long has he or she been with the organization, and what is his or her management style?  How has his or her career progressed within the organization?  What obstacles does he or she see in meeting careeer goals?

You may want to know how the department is viewed by other areas of the organization.  What are the advancement opportunities?  What are the characteristics and skills of the people who are the most successful in the organization?

You may glean some information about a company’s growth from research, or it may come up during the course of the interview, but if it does not, it is important to know if a company is growing or not, and where the growth is occurring.

Finally, if you are given a tour of the department, don’t be afraid to talk to current employees – or ask to talk to employees.   Ask them some of the questions outlined above.  How do they like working there?  What do they think of the boss?

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When considering a new job opportunity, there are obviously many things to look at.  Salary may generally be uppermost in people’s minds when looking at a new job, but there are many other important factors to examine as well.  These factors are all key to determining that all-important fit between job candidate and employer.

1) One of the most important factors in job satisfaction is the relationship between you and your superior.  So when you’re thinking of working for a certain boss, you need to find out how she manages.  How does she make decisions?  How will she evaluate your performance?  In other words, you need to get a feel for a potential new boss’ personality.

2) Take a real analytical look at the kind and amount of work you will be doing.  Be wary if overtime seems to be the norm – for a professional job, occasional overtime may be necessary, but if it is common, it may signal a lack of resources or some other problem.  Also, what kinds of skills does the work involve – is it more project management, developing strategy, handling client relationships, or doing creative work?  How much autonomy will you have in doing it?  What are the opportunities for advancement?  Does the company have a practice of promoting from within, or does it look outside the company first?

3) How do you feel about the mission and values of the company, and the company’s leaders?

4) Also, don’t forget to take a look at the financial health of the company.  A good indicator of this is the earnings per share.  Has it been going up year after year, or have there been dips?

5) You will also want to know about the people you will be working with and how the relationships have been among employees.  What will they expect from you?  How interdependent will the jobs be?  When talking to prospective coworkers, get their take on the manager.

If you will have people working under you, try to get a feel for their strengths and weaknesses.  Will you be able to effectively manage them?

Another thing to think about is travel time.  Be honest with yourself in determining how long a commute you can manage on a daily basis.  Remember, it may not seem so bad for a few days or a week, but driving it for a number of years may be a different story.  How would such a commute affect your lifestyle?

9) And finally, that question about pay – are you being valued at your worth in the marketplace?

Once you have answers, make a list of pros and cons, assigning more weight to those items that matter more to you, before making a final decision.
Let Winston Resources help you find that next great opportunity. We have terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement assignments at New York City’s best employers. Contact us today.

You’re in the middle of an interview for an amazing job.  Things are going great. You look outstanding; you sound confident; you’re nailing every question. Then the interviewer asks you:

“If you were a car, what kind of car would you be?”

Your heart starts racing. Your mind goes blank. You begin to sweat. What should you say?

First of all, there’s no need to panic. This kind of interview question is designed to stump you. The interviewer wants to see how you react and how quickly you can think on your feet.

Here’s what to do and what NOT to do in this kind of situation:

• Don’t let the question rattle you. Simply smile and take a deep breath.
• Ask for a moment to give it some thought. A moment of silence or a pause in the conversation is better than blurting out a ridiculous answer.
• If you don’t know what the interviewer is fishing for in your answer, then ask for clarification or for an example. Many times by discussing the question in this way, an answer will come to you.
• If you still can’t think of a good answer, simply ask the interviewer to come back to that question.
• Also, don’t worry about being brilliant or witty. Just be yourself and give an honest response. There is rarely a wrong answer to these kinds of questions.

Here are some examples of other unexpected job interview questions that may come your way:

• If you could have dinner with anyone from history, living or dead, who would it be and why?
• Who do you admire the most and why?
• If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Also, while you can’t prepare for every off-the-wall question, make sure you ARE prepared for the basic questions, such as:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years?
• Tell me about a time when you successfully handled a complicated situation?
• What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
• What do you consider your biggest career achievement?
• Why should we hire you?
• Why do you want this job?

As one of New York City’s leading employment agencies, Winston Resources knows what employers are looking for during jobs interviews. If you’re searching for work and need helping preparing for an interview, please contact us today.